


Glow

by artisticallyGay



Category: Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst with a Happy Ending, Mild Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Only the characters that the fic is focused on are tagged, Polyamory, Rarepair, Sort-of Slowburn, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-18 22:07:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28874331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artisticallyGay/pseuds/artisticallyGay
Summary: Dick, Wally, and Artemis had all discovered to be each other’s soulmates pretty early on, Dick and Wally finding out when they were younger and soon learning about Artemis when the team was first set up.Klarion, however, in his many many long years of existence, believed he didn’t have one. Not that he cared, all he needed in life was his powers and his familiar. It’s what he’d been telling himself for so, so long.This belief quickly gets thrown out the window when the witch boy has his first run-in with the team.
Relationships: Artemis Crock/Dick Grayson, Artemis Crock/Dick Grayson/Klarion/Wally West, Artemis Crock/Dick Grayson/Wally West, Artemis Crock/Klarion, Artemis Crock/Wally West, Dick Grayson/Klarion, Dick Grayson/Wally West, Klarion/Wally West
Kudos: 32
Collections: For Tranq System





	1. "Denial"

**Author's Note:**

> This was just meant to be a one-shot cliffhanger inspired by that one bit in the song "Heart Attack" by Demi Lovato but I couldn't resist the temptation. I'm not only gonna indulge in rarepair stuff but hope I'm giving content to the few people who also like this very very niche ship.
> 
> I'm also lowkey winging some of Klarion's personality because he's only got three episodes in the Young Justice series and I'm doing the best I can with the wiki and some uh, personal interpretations.

Klarion could care less about soulmates. Sure, the idea of your soul being bound to a person who was destined to be your “perfect match” was a fun thing to think about when he was young and new to the world, but over the years, never did his chest glow for someone. 

Klarion didn’t care. He didn’t feel a twinge of bitterness seeing the glow of other’s eyes. He didn’t feel the weight of self-loathing from the stigma that those without soulmates were considered to have no soul at all. If anything, it made sense with his cruel and bratty nature. Besides, soulmates were all about “fate and destiny” and whatnot and being a Lord of Chaos, that just wasn’t his thing. Just another bullet to the list of why he must’ve not had a soulmate. All he needed were his powers and his familiar. That’s all he needed.

Little did he know that tonight his world would be flipped upside-down.

* * *

The witch boy sat in the front row of the theater, a wicked glint in his eyes as he watched Mr. Kent Nelson being shocked by Abra Kadabra. He let out a laugh when Teekl padded in and jumped to his lap, giving a loud meow to grab his attention. He glanced down at the tabby and gave a huff before looking back at the display, ignoring the attempt to get his attention.

“Shush Teekl! I’m watching the show,” He looked back up and continued to watch, much to Teekl’s frustration. Nelson was zapped again and Klarion gave another laugh. Annoyance and frustration going, Teekl let out a loud yowl and hiss in Klarion’s face. “What?” Klarion asked with a frown and sharp glare at his familiar, practically hissing the word.

Teekl gave another hiss and meow. _‘Heroes outside, likely looking for their friend here.’_

Klarion raised an eyebrow before his glare softened and he let out a drawn-out “Oh” with amusement in his voice. Guess he was gonna have to show these little kids who they were messing with. “Sounds like we have some company.” He turned to look at the two men on stage, Kadabra stopping the torture to look back at the witch boy. “I think we should go ahead and introduce ourselves.”

Mr. Nelson was untied from the chair but his hands stayed bound. Teekl jumped up onto Klarion and he effortlessly caught the cat, holding them close to his chest. With a simple spell, the four were warped just outside the theater, immediately taking notice of the group of teens, who weren’t really being so quiet. Or subtle.

None of them really seemed to stand out to Klarion. Except for two. The blonde girl and ginger boy. Both of their eyes gave a soft glow, the ginger’s being green and the blonde’s being yellow. The two must be soulmates. A very dull hum seemed to echo in the back of Klarion’s head, and he furrowed his brows in confusion before attempting to ignore it. He couldn’t help but pick up the snark in the blonde’s voice and smiled a bit before realizing what he was doing. _That_ wasn’t like him at all. The ginger’s response began in agreement before his attitude made a complete 180 as the martian girl came by. Ugh, he was one of _those_ kinds of humans.

Okay, why the hell was he so suddenly interested in the two? ...Maybe he was tired, it was really late after all.

_But beings like him didn’t need sleep._

To get his mind off it, Klarion decided to make a remark on the blonde’s question from a few moments ago. “Hey, Abra Kadabra, are you using adaptive micro-optoelectronics combined with phase shifting?” He couldn’t help but smile with mild surprise when the response was a very begrudging “Yes”.

The teens summon and enter the hideout of Doctor Fate and after waiting a few minutes, the four head in as well, with Mr. Nelson forced to guide them through the building which Klarion had to admit, the warped and confusing layout and design appealed to his aesthetic. Maybe it would be perfect if the design was a little more gothic.

* * *

This was taking forever. Klarion was bored out of his mind, feeling like he’d been walking in circles. Teekl had moved to rest around Klarion’s shoulders, the witch boy’s arms admittedly getting tired from carrying the familiar. Didn’t help that everything simultaneously looked the same and seemed like it was warping into an entirely new place. Maybe he could speed things up a bit. In the most annoying tone he could think of on short notice, Klarion began to repeat the four words that adults dreaded hearing during long trips.

“Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” Klarion was doing his best not to laugh during his little act and if Kadabra wasn’t already mad before from how long this was taking, then he was pissed now. The man’s frustration made it harder for the witch boy not to laugh, but he just barely was able to keep it together.

This went on for not even a minute when Kadabra snapped. Kadabra grabbed Nelson’s shoulder, bringing them to a stop. “Tell us how to find the helmet,” he demanded, annoyance clear in his voice. Nelson shot a glare at him, unable to speak from the muting device Kadabra put around his neck earlier. Kadabra removed it and threw it over his shoulder.

“Can't,” Nelson says with a smile, voice hoarse. “Having too much fun.”  
  
Kadabra’s expression twisted into rage as he pulled out his wand and zapped Nelson, knocking the man to the ground. “Still having fun?” he drawled bitterly.

“I am!” Klarion spoke up with a chuckle. “Zap him again! Or dump him off the side, and watch him splat!”

Kadabra rolled his eyes but went ahead and shocked Nelson again. Klarion watched happily until his attention was brought away from the two for a moment by Teekl.

_'You know we still need him to navigate this place, right?’_

“Ah, yes yes,” Klarion agreed with disappointment. “I suppose we might still need him.” Sensing Teekl was satisfied enough with his response, he went back to watching Kadabra hurt Kent with vicious glee.

Only a few moments later, there was the quiet hum of teleportation magic being used, and from behind the group a familiar voice called out “Abra Kadabra” in an angry tone.

If Klarion had a heart it would’ve stopped from shock. _Why was he shocked, he shouldn’t be reacting like this over two stupid mortals._

It was like time was both going too fast and too slow. Nelson had his cane in his hands and he flew to the two teens, knocking Klarion and Kadabra down in the process when the witch boy just barely was able to turn around in time to see it was them. The blonde and ginger. The hum in the back of his head was louder.

Something wasn’t _right_.

Nelson and the two began to escape, snapping Klarion out of it. “No, no, no!” he shouted, red magic forming in his hands quickly. “I want that helmet!” Red lightning magic chased after the three but he was moments too late to get them. The doors shut and they were gone. Klarion screamed and stomped. He was so close! So close to getting that damn helmet! Rage made his body shake and red magic sparked off his hands like sparks flying from welded metal. He barely realized Teelk was trying to get his attention, meowing in his ear and slapping his face with their tail.

“What!” Klarion snapped, though Teekl was unfazed by his anger.

_'Not to make the situation worse, but there’s a suspicious glow leaking out the collar of your shirt.’_

His breath hitched, and the magic sparking from his hands immediately dissipated like a candle being blown out. He looked and tugged his collar away from his neck, and lo and behold. A red glow similar to the color of his magic slipped out, illuminating his pale face that seemed to become somehow paler at the sight.

Fate was a cruel person, especially to one who was the living embodiment of chaos.


	2. "Confliction"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this took a while, I had a long inner debate for if I wanted to do a POV for Wally and Artemis or keep it on Klari for now, and I decided to keep it on our favorite witch boy because an Artemis and Wally POV chapter would be too short of a chapter with where we are in the timeline right now. There will be a little blurb at the end of the chapter though uwu
> 
> I’m honestly lowkey terrified for everything after this chapter because I have a problem with pacing slowburns, so root for me to make this a long and painful process for us all in terms of making this slowburn last more than a few chapters

Was the room spinning? It felt like everything was going around Klarion at unthinkable speeds, hands shaking at his sides and the glow from him feeling like it was  _ blinding _ him. His mind tried to come up with any excuse it could muster.

‘ _ That Nelson guy cast some sort of spell to keep you distracted. _ ’

‘ _ This tower is making you see things. _ ’

‘ _ You are  _ literally _ chaos incarnate, you  _ can't _ have a soulmate. _ ’   


His eyes felt like they were burning and something cold began to run down his face.

“Klarion!”

Suddenly too aware of his surroundings and remembering the situation, the witch boy used a sleeve to rub away the burning in his eyes and snapped his head over to Abra Kadabra, who was the one who called his name.

“If you’re done throwing your temper tantrum, then I suggest we try and go after them,” Kadabra snapped. Klarion felt his nose crinkle and eyebrows furrow in indignance.   
  
“I wasn’t throwing a tantrum!” His voice cracked slightly between words. It felt hard to speak, his throat felt strained. He could feel Teekl pressing against the side of his face, trying to give some sort of comfort, and let out a growl towards the charlatan. Kadabra only sighed and rolled his eyes in response, running off to try and chase after Nelson and the two teens. Klarion let out a frustrated shout before following after. All while desperately trying to ignore the red glow still peeking out the collar of his shirt.

_ He could deal with that later. _

It surprisingly wasn’t too long until the two found Nelson, along with the two teens and some newer faces. Kadabra immediately shot a bolt of electricity at the group, the ginger boy pulling the retired hero out the way and the rest of the teens dodging the next attack. Nelson managed to get to the large bell in the room and struck it.

Was… Was the ginger boy’s chest  _ glowing _ ?

Klarion almost didn’t notice the toll of the bell, instead hearing his pulse pounding in his ears as he stared. His eyes burned again. The two began to head into the bell and without thought, Klarion followed quickly after. He held Teekl close as he flew after them, and he did his best to blink away the pain in his eyes.

Everything felt like it was almost a dream-like state. Too many thoughts buzzed in the witch boy’s head and he acted with little thought. He dropped his familiar to the ground and let the cat move behind him. He fired a beam of magic at Nelson to prevent the old man from getting the helmet and bringing back Nabu. He shot at him again, only to have his attack deflected by a last resort barrier, protecting not only the retired hero, but the ginger boy and the helmet too.

Klarion screamed out a “No!”, his mixed emotions spilling out into a mix of frustration and despair, the last one being a foreign emotion to the Lord of Chaos.

‘ _ This is all wrong! Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong! _ ’ Klarion thought bitterly. He clenched his hands, tightening to the point his sharp black nails broke the skin of his palms, Blood began to pool in the palms of his hands and the stinging of the minor injury felt like it was the only thing keeping Klarion from just about losing it and making all hell break loose. This Lord of Chaos was  _ done _ with this disaster of a night. Everything went wrong the moment these  _ brats _ got here. He began to send a rapid-fire of magic attacks at the barrier, knowing sooner or later it would break, then  _ nothing _ was going to stop him from taking that stupid helmet.

Pulling out a more intricate spell from memory, Klarion summoned a pair of taloned hands of pure magic that mimicked his own hand movements. With a wide smirk, he slammed the magic hands down on the barrier and had his claws dig into the golden barrier, satisfaction building as the dome began to give.

His stomach dropped whenever the ginger grabbed hold of the helmet. Was he that much of an idiot?   
  
“Hey, kid!  You put that on, you may never get it off!” he warned, trying to play off a nonchalant tone but feeling terrified as the boy still kept a determined hold onto the helmet.    
  
Why was Klarion warning him? Did he just not want to have to deal with fighting that damned Lord of Order?

_ Or was he terrified of losing a soulmate to one of the most apathetic beings he knew? _

Finally getting a decent grip in the barrier’s membrane, Klarion tore it apart as the ginger boy standing across from him lifted the helmet above his head. Klarion’s stomach dropped again and he had to stop his hands from shaking as he fired one more attack in a desperate attempt to stop the young hero from putting on the helmet and sealing himself into a horrible fate.

He was just seconds too late, the witch boy’s magic sliding off the kid like rain against an umbrella. 

Fuck.

The power of the helmet took effect almost immediately and the young hero’s form shifted into a more adult body, but still kind of small. His clothes were switched to a somewhat boring yet garish dark blue and gold full-body leotard with a matching gold cape. The kid’s chest stopped glowing, and Klarion felt a sudden hollowness inside that, while familiar, was unwelcome for the first time in his life.

Klarion sent another rapid-fire of magic attacks at the Lord of Order, but his attacks were effortlessly blocked by an ankh-shaped barrier. “Give it up, Nabu! Order went out of style in the 20th century!” he taunted. He was met with a look of cold indifference, and for some reason, Klarion despised such a look coming from those striking green eyes that belonged to the ginger boy practically trapped under the mask.

“I was surprised you decided to warn the child of the consequences of bearing the helmet,” Nabu began. The Lord’s voice overlapped with the one that belonged to the body, a grating clash between the two pitches managing to give Klarion a chill down his back. “If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought you cared for his well being.” Despite the steady tone, Klarion could tell that he was taunting the witch boy in return, and that very sentence struck what little nerves Klarion had left from this stress fest of a night. He felt himself bristle with anger.

“Shut it you old fart!” Klarion snapped, drawing two large stone columns from the tower and aiming them at Nabu’s sides. Despite landing the hit, the Lord of Order was able to break out of the stone. “What do you even know about caring for someone?! I’m not the guy who has to keep a barely willing body hostage just to keep tethered to this realm!” He could see the body’s eyes glower and Klarion felt a bit of satisfaction knowing he was able to bite back at Nabu’s nerves.

“Brat,” Nabu spat as a retort before firing a gold beam at the other. Klarion just barely managed to block the attack, his form dissipating into black fragments and Teekl running farther from the action. If his familiar got injured, it was straight back to Klarion’s dimension for who knows how long until Teekl was healed up.

Klarion reformed behind Nabu and immediately went for an attack. He couldn’t help but feel himself holding back his power, just a little bit. He may be fighting Nabu, but it was the young hero’s body who would be taking all the damage. Klarion scowled to himself. ‘ _ And  _ I’m _ the villain in this situation. _ ’’

The two continued their fight, and while Klarion was struggling in the beginning, he was managing to gain the upper hand in the situation. 

Maybe things were finally turning in his favor.

“You’re out of practice, Nabu,” the Lord of Chaos teased. “And that host of yours has zero affinity for the mystic arts.” He raised his hands to the sky and summoned a storm, red lightning shooting down at Nabu.

The other manages to get a shield up in time, the collide in opposing energies making rainbow-colored magical residue radiate off from around the contact point. That was new.

With a small break in the fight, Klarion realized that he wasn’t being indirectly blinded by light peeking out of his clothing. He felt an uneasiness, not seeing the glow despite all the distress it's caused him. Maybe the lack of glow had something to do with Nabu using the kid as a host? The ginger’s own glow did fade away when he put on the helmet after all. Klarion was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt something headbutt his ankles. He looked down to see Teekl glaring at him.

‘ _ Pay attention, Klarion! _ ’ Teekl hissed, scolding the boy.

“I _am_ paying attention, you stupid cat.” he snapped back.

‘ _ You’re going to lose if you’re not careful! _ ’

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m  _ winning _ !” Klarion gestured to Nabu, still stuck defending himself from the magic lightning from under the gold barrier. Just as he finished his sentence though, Nabu shot out a shockwave of energy that broke his line of defense but also dispersed the storm Klarion made. He and Teekl flinched from the small explosion that followed, the familiar diving behind the witch boy for extra protection.

When the smoke cleared, Nabu was standing in a ring of golden flames, eyes narrowed. “It is difficult for a Lord of Order _or_ Chaos to maintain a presence on the physical plane,” Nabu spoke, voice steady as if he didn’t break a sweat at all from the fight.

Klarion felt a strong spike of indignance. How dare that old jerk compare him to the other! His form morphed, switching his looks to something that looked more along the lines of the uncanny valley. He screeched as dark red flames were summoned around himself and Teekl, then launching the flames at the Lord of Order.

Nabu dodged each attack, keeping his eyes locked onto the witch boy. “I am bound to the helmet and use a human host,” he spoke as he continued to evade the fire magic. “But that is not your way.” His tone seemed almost judgemental as he spoke. He fired back an attack, with Klarion just barely able to block it by summoning a stone barrier.

“You’re  _ babbling _ , Nabu,” Klarion growled, eyes glowing red from the magic overflow and his anger.

“Am I?” Nabu fired another attack, Klarion summoning another barrier to block it only to realize the magic wasn’t aimed at him. Eyes wide with confusion and fear, he watched the golden beam whizz by and strike Teekl, who yowled in pain and tumbled a couple of meters away.

“Teekl!” Klarion shouted, getting rid of the barrier and turning to Nabu in rage. “I can’t believe you would assault a defenseless pussycat!”

“We both know that creature is no cat,  _ witch boy _ ,” Nabu sneered. “And without your familiar, you have no anchor in this reality.” Klarion’s form began to flicker like a dying light as Nabu said this, and Klarion felt dread fill the atmosphere. He had to get himself and Teekl away,  _ now _ .

“Bully! Killjoy! Geezer!” Klarion spat out any insult he could think of until Nabu shot another beam of magic, this time at the Lord of Chaos. Klarion let a swear slip out in surprise before using a black and red portal to slip away and grab Teekl, holding the cat protectively in his arms. “We’re out of here!” As quickly as he could, the witch boy pulled a quick teleportation spell and the two are gone in smoky wisps of black and red.

* * *

Better safe than sorry, Klarion had teleported the two of them back to his own domain, straight into his bedroom. Still holding Teekl close and tight, he moved over onto his bed and practically flopped onto it, Teekl letting out a slightly startled mew and slipping out of his grasp and immediately curling up on the mattress. His body ached as he let his muscles relax. His palms were stinging again, Klarion vaguely remembering he stabbed himself with his nails when he got angry earlier. He’d use a healing spell, but his abilities were unfortunately very rusty in that department. He’d just clean up the marks and let them heal up the old fashion way.

Finally, with a moment of peace, the Lord of Chaos slowly began to process the recent events of the night.

He failed to get Nabu’s helmet.

He was defeated, ego and pride definitely bruised by the loss.

After years and years of solitude, believing he was one of the "unlucky, broken" ones, it turned out Klarion had a soulmate after all.

...He was still coming to terms at that last one. 

Speaking of, the red glow from earlier had returned, the light peeking out his collar again. It didn’t seem as blinding to look at this time around. Did Nabu actually let that kid go free then? A small part of him felt relief at the thought that the young hero wasn’t going to be stuck as a sock puppet for a jerk like Nabu. He brought a hand to his chest, resting it where his heart would be. Despite knowing better, Klarion could feel the smallest of smiles tugging at the corners of his mouth.

A few moments of silence passed. Suddenly, Klarion felt a faint rhythm from his chest.

‘ _ You’ve got to be kidding me. _ ’

* * *

Everybody on the bioship was dead silent for the whole trip back. Nobody was really sure how to feel about everything that had gone down tonight.

It was a little victorious at first until Wally had given the news that Kent Nelson ended up dying in an effort to keep the helmet from Klarion’s grasp. That kind of news was definitely a big mood killer.  What kept everyone speechless though were the glows that came not only from Wally and Artemis’ eyes, but their chests as well. The two kept their distance from the group, sticking to each other’s side on the way back to Mount Justice. Artemis rested against Wally’s shoulder, eyes partially closed from exhaustion and the depressing tension. The speedster had one arm wrapped around the archer’s waist, with the other arm holding the helmet that started this whole mess. The two both had the same worry in their minds.   
  
How were they gonna explain that they found another soulmate, with their only suspect being a villainous teen who was behind this whole mess? 


End file.
